They’re back – and they’re looking good!

The Veterans’ Standards belonging to the Eighth Army Vets, the Korean Vets, the Burma Star Vets and the Normandy Vet that were given to us in 2016 to preserve for future generations have now been returned, fully restored, and are on display in the Council Chamber in the Guildhall for members of the public to come and see.

We received them with a view to restoring and preserving them for future generations. In order to meet that goal, we ran a crowdfunding appeal which raised more than £12,000.

The conservation work was carried out by the People’s History Museum in Manchester. They run a professionally trained and accredited conservation studio where they specialise in textiles, particularly large flat textiles such as banners and flags which made them the perfect choice to work on the standards.

In total it took them about 200 hours of work to conserve and mount the four standards. The work included cleaning, removing creases, creating a backboard and then a lot of hours stitching the standards to the board. They were then taken to Liverpool where they were professionally framed by Conservation Gilding.

The Standards will be on permanent display in the Council Chambers and be available to anyone who would like to come in and see the restored Standards. If you are in town and want to pop in you’re welcome to do so, but as the Chamber is very much a working room, it would save you disappointment if you ring 01978 292000 beforehand and check to see whether or not the room is free.

Cllr David Griffiths, Armed Forces Champion, said: “We are very honoured to be custodians of these important Standards, and it is something we will take very seriously. I would like to thank all those who donated or fund-raised to make this work possible to ensure the Standards are preserved for future generations.”

At a short ceremony recently those involved in the crowdfunding and conservation were invited to take a look at the results of their hard work. They were also presented with a special Pin Badge to mark the restoration and as a memento of the occasion.